Thread: What are your thoughts on simile's

She narrows her eyes as she glares in my direction, and I know she's trying to put me in my place, as she should. I'm just surprised when I feel a warm sensation in the pit my stomach. I can't hold back the smile that forms on my normally stiff lips, pissing her off even more. I have to admit, I am mesmorised with the way her eyes sparkle, like the cold diamond she wears on her finger.

I love to write with similies, but I was told that I tend to use too many. I did, however, go through my ms and delete some that weren't my favorites.

And sorry for the lame example, I wrote it out in a mintue.

What do you think of them? Can they be overused? Or do you think they help the reader to see what your describing?

I simile all the time, it's my cheerful disposition...

Anything overused can be too much. It comes down to the audience you are writing for, if it is something they like, then it's fine. The problem comes when the reader pays more attention to the writing that the story. If that is happening, then there are too many, and if readers are noticing, then they obviously are paying attention to the words over the story. Then the answer is, yes, you are using too many.

Done right, similes can vastly improve a scene. One story I read had the author describing a particular group of buildings as having "domes like white chocolate chips" (I'm paraphrasing; it was written more elegantly than that). It was perfect, because I immediately understood what the buildings were supposed to look like.

On the other hand, some similes have been used to death, "eyes that sparkled like diamonds" being one of them (yes, I know it was a spur of the moment example). Similes work if they had flavor and feeling to the story. If they're just another cliche put in for the sake of having a simile, you're better off doing without.

Yes... that's what I thought as well. Two of my readers noticed that I was using them a lot. I will use them sparingly now. Although, I think they are playing close attention to the words because I've asked them to go through and pick out words I use too much, spelling errors or inconsistancies throughout my story. Apparently, I like to use the word bright! I swear I've been over my book so much I could recite it word for word but have still missed small errors. *sigh*